Environmental Consequences of the Transformation of the Sectoral Structure of the Economy of Russian Regions and Cities in the Post-Soviet Period

The transformation of the environmental situation in the course of post-Soviet changes in Russia’s economy is considered from the standpoint of structural features and dynamics of industrial production, GRP, and energy output. A multiscale (country–regions–cities) comprehensive assessment of the transformation of the environmental situation due to changes in the territorial and sectoral structure of the economy at the Russian, regional, and city levels was carried out. Factors and spatiotemporal patterns in the dynamics and structural characteristics of the environmental situation during periods of crises and economic growth are revealed. The comprehensive index of anthropogenic impact is used to assess the dynamics and variability of the environmental situation in Russian regions and cities: a general decline in most environmental indicators is identified, as well as a gradual leveling of regional shares and increased localization of the impact in individual cities versus a general slowdown in economic growth. Gradual weakening of the role of industrial specialization in the the environmental situation and simplification of the structure of types of impact within regions are shown. The highest level of discrepancy between economic development trends and the integral load indicator is typical of regions with the highest level of impact; the highest degree of dependence is typical of agrarian or agroindustrial regions, as well as of regions where one of the key sources of pollution is fuel energy production with coal predominant in the fuel balance structure. In general, the trends of changes in the environmental situation in regions are smoother than in cities. The more diversified the economy of a region, the smaller the range of fluctuations of the comprehensive index of anthropogenic impact; the more developed a largecity settlement pattern, the more complex and diverse the factors of the regional ecological situation.

1. Arbab P. City prosperity Initiative Index: using AHP method to recalculate the weights of dimensions and sub-dimensions in reference to Tehran metropolis. Eur. J. Sustain. Dev., 2017, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 289–301.

2. Baklanov P.Ya. Territorial’nye struktury khozyaistva v regional’nom upravlenii [Territorial Structure of Economy in Regional Governance]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2007. 239 p.

3. Bityukova V.R. Ecological rating of Russian cities. Ekol. Prom-st’ Ross., 2015, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 34–39. (In Russ.).

4. Bityukova V.R. Regional projection of environmental consequences of crises in the Russian economy. Reg. Res. Russ., 2021, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 656–666.

5. Bityukova V.R., Chizhova N.N. Multiscale analysis of the territorial structure of pollution in Western Siberia. Ekol. Prom-st’ Ross., 2006, no. 9, pp. 4–9; no. 10, pp.4–7. (In Russ.).

6. Bityukova V.R., Kasimov N.S. Atmospheric pollution of Russia’s cities: assessment of emissions and immissions based on statistical data. Geofizika, 2012, vol. 29, pp.53–67.

7. Bityukova V.R., Shimunova A.A. Regional analysis of differentiation of Industrial atmospheric pollution in the post-Soviet space. Reg. Res. Russ., 2021, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 367–377.

8. Bobylev S.N., Zakharov V.M. Krizis: ekonomika i ekologiya [Crisis: Economy and Ecology]. Moscow: LEVKO Publ., 2009. 84 р.

9. Chistobaev A.I., Sharygin M.D. Ekonomicheskaya i sotsial’naya geografiya: novyi etap [A New Stage of Economic and Social Geography]. Leningrad, 1990. 319 р.

10. Dobrolyubova Yu.S. Review of foreign social and environmental ratings of cities and their comparison with Russian counterparts. Reg. Issled., 2015, no. 4, pp. 65–75. (In Russ.).

11. Gómez-Calvet R., Conesa D., Gómez-Calvet A., TortosaAusina E. Energy efficiency in the European Union: What can be learned from the joint application of directional distance functions and slacks-based measures? Appl. Energy, 2014, vol. 132, pp. 137–154.

12. Hollander J.M. The Real Environmental Crisis: Why Poverty, Not Affluence, Is the Environment’s Number One Enemy. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2003. 235 p.

13. Klyuev N.N. Ekologo-geograficheskoe polozhenie Rossii i ee regionov [Ecological and Geographical Position of Russia and Its Regions]. Moscow: Inst. Geogr., Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1996. 161 p.

14. Klyuev N.N. Russia’s natural-resource sphere and trends in its development. Herald Russ. Acad. Sci., 2015, vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 303–315.

15. Koldobskaya N.A. Study of the transformation of the ecological situation using integral indices and ratings (by the example of the capitals of post-Soviet countries). Reg. Issled., 2014, no. 3, pp. 84–91. (In Russ.).

16. Komar I.V. Ratsional’noe ispol’zovanie prirodnykh resursov i resursnye tsikly [Rational Use of Natural Resources and Resource Cycles]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1975. 210 p.

17. Kumar U., Jain V.K. Time series models (Grey-Markov, Grey Model with rolling mechanism and singular spec trum analysis) to forecast energy consumption in India. Energy, 2010, vol. 35, pp. 1709–1716.

18. Lopatnikov D.L. Ecological transition. Reg. Issled., 2013, no. 3, pp. 4–8. (In Russ.).

19. McHale M.R., Ludtke A.S., Wetherbee G.A., Burns D.A., Nilles M.A., Finkelstein J.S. Trends in precipitation chemistry across the U.S. 1985–2017: quantifying the benefits from 30 years of Clean Air Act amendment regulation. Atmos. Environ., 2021, vol. 247, 118219.

20. Mints A.A. Ekonomicheskaya otsenka estestvennykh resursov [Economic Evaluation of Natural Resources]. Moscow: Mysl’ Publ., 1972. 303 p.

21. Mori K., Yamashita T. Methodological framework of sustainability assessment in City Sustainability Index (CSI): a concept of constraint and maximisation indicators. Habitat Int., 2014, vol. 45, pp. 10–14.

22. Nagvi A., Zwickl K. Fifty shades of green: revisiting decoupling by economic sector and air pollutants. Ecol. Econ., 2017, vol. 133, pp. 111–126.

23. Pacyna E.G., Pacyna J.M., Sundseth K., Munthe J., Kindbom K., Wilson S., Steenhuisen F., Maxson P. Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020. Atmos. Environ., 2010, vol. 44, pp. 2487–2499.

24. Pakina A.A., Kirillov S.N. Decoupling effect as an indicator of development sustainability at the regional level. Mat. Mezhdunar. konf. “Ekologo-ekonomicheskie usloviya obespecheniya ustoichivogo razvitiya Rossii” [Proc. Int. Conf. “Ecological-Economic Conditions for Sustainable Development of Russia”]. Moscow, 2017, pp.109–111. (In Russ.).

25. Privalovskaya G.A. Zoning of the territory of the USSR as a method for analysis of the interaction of the economy with the environment. In Sovershenstvovanie prirodopol’zovaniya. Geograficheskii analiz [Improvement of Natural Resource Use. Geographic Analysis]. Moscow: Inst. Geogr., Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1983, pp. 15–36. (In Russ.).

26. Privalovskaya G.A., Runova T.G. Regional approach to solution of environmental problems. Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geogr., 1994, no. 5, pp. 79–87. (In Russ.).

27. Prokhorov B.B. Ekologiya cheloveka: sotsial’no-demograficheskie aspekty [Human Ecology: Socio-Demographic Aspects]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1991. 111 p.

28. Razumovskii V.M. Ekologo-ekonomicheskoe raionirovanie (teoreticheskie aspekty) [Theoretical Aspects of Ecological and Economic Zoning]. Leningrad, 1989. 154 p.

29. Saushkin Yu.G. Ekonomicheskaya geografiya: istoriya, teoriya, metody, praktika [Economic Geography: History, Theory, Methods, and Practice]. Moscow: Mysl’ Publ., 1973. 559 p.

30. Solodovnikov A.Yu., Chistobaev A.I. Vliyanie neftegazodobychi na sotsial’no-ekologicheskuyu sredu Obskogo Severa [Impact of Oil and Gas Production on the Social and Ecological Environment of the Ob River Region’s North]. St. Petersburg: VVM, 2011. 310 p.

31. The Green City Index. A Research Project Conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Sponsored by Siemens. Munich: Siemens AG, 2012. 47 p.

32. The World Atlas of Atmospheric Pollution. Sokhi R.S., Ed. London: Anthem, 2008. 144 p.

33. Tian H.Z., Zhou J.R., Zhu C.Y., Zhao D., Gao J.J., Hao J.M., He M.C., Liu K.Y., Wang K., Hua S.B. A comprehensive global inventory of atmospheric antimony emissions from anthropogenic activities, 1995–2010. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2014, vol. 48, pp. 10235–10241.

34. Tikunov V.S., Belousov S.K. Integral assessment and mapping of anthropogenic impact on the environment of Russian regions. Nauka Publ. Innovatsii. Tekhnol., 2021, no. 1, pp. 89–106. (In Russ.).

35. Ul Haq M. Reflections on Human Development. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1995, pp. 48–50.

36. Volkova I.N., Privalovskaya G.A. Socioeconomic preconditions for risks to sustainable development of RF regions. Reg. Res. Russ., 2011, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 103–113.

37. Yandle B., Vijayaraghavan M., Bhattarai M. The Environmental Kuznets Curve: A Primer. Bozeman, MT: Property Environ. Res. Center, 2002. 24 p.